Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, mentioned on Wednesday that he thinks the central financial institution will start to decrease borrowing prices in 2024 however that policymakers nonetheless wanted to realize “higher confidence” that inflation was conquered earlier than making a transfer.

“We imagine that our coverage price is probably going at its peak for this tightening cycle,” Mr. Powell mentioned in remarks ready for testimony earlier than the Home Monetary Providers Committee. “If the financial system evolves broadly as anticipated, it is going to probably be applicable to start dialing again coverage restraint in some unspecified time in the future this 12 months.”

The Fed subsequent meets on March 19-20, however few buyers count on officers to decrease rates of interest at that gathering. Markets see the Fed’s June assembly as a extra probably candidate for the primary price reduce, and are betting that central bankers may decrease borrowing prices three or 4 instances by the tip of the 12 months.

The Fed chair warned in opposition to reducing charges too early — earlier than inflation is sufficiently snuffed out — noting that “lowering coverage restraint too quickly or an excessive amount of may end in a reversal of progress we’ve seen in inflation and in the end require even tighter coverage.”

He additionally acknowledged that there could possibly be dangers to ready too lengthy, including that “lowering coverage restraint too late or too little may unduly weaken financial exercise and employment.”

Mr. Powell and his colleagues are attempting to strike a fragile stability as they work out their subsequent coverage steps. Policymakers raised rates of interest quickly between March 2022 and July 2023, lifting them to a spread of 5.25 to five.5 p.c, the place they presently sit. That has made mortgages, enterprise loans and different kinds of borrowing dearer, serving to to faucet the brakes on an financial system that in any other case retains substantial momentum.

Policymakers don’t wish to go away rates of interest this excessive for too lengthy. Cooling the financial system by greater than is important may push up unemployment.

However in addition they wish to keep away from declaring victory too early. Whereas inflation has come down notably, it’s nonetheless lingering above the Fed’s 2 p.c aim.

The central financial institution’s most popular inflation measure climbed 2.4 p.c on an annual foundation in January, which is nicely under its practically 7 p.c peak. The measure rose by 2.8 p.c after stripping out risky meals and gasoline costs for a clearer studying of the inflation pattern. (A separate however associated inflation measure, the Shopper Worth Index, reached the next peak in 2022 and stays barely extra elevated.)

Up to now, the progress in cooling has come even because the job market has remained robust, with strong hiring and joblessness hovering at 3.7 p.c, a low stage by historic requirements.

Inflation “has eased considerably, and the slowing in inflation has occurred with no important improve in unemployment,” Mr. Powell mentioned.

Fed officers are hopeful that their coverage helps to carry the financial system again into stability, in order that worth will increase can return solely to a standard stage. As an illustration, the variety of job openings has come down over the previous 12 months, and as firms compete much less aggressively for workers, wage progress is cooling. That would go away companies with much less impetus to ratchet up costs to cowl climbing prices.

Mr. Powell famous that within the labor market, “provide and demand situations have continued to come back into higher stability.”